North Carolina Diving??

[NightRaven77]

Ok..........treat me like a tourist..........


I hear so much abou the wrecks in North Carolina and am intrested in finding out some info on them........

here we go.......

#1-What are the best wrecks to dive?
#2-A highly recomended Dive Operator?
#3-Best time to dive?
#4-Water Temp and the seasons?
#5-Type of suit to wear?
#6-Where to stay at? resorts?

Any help on my research would be appreciated!!!

thanks fellow divers

 

[diverjed]

Probably one of the most recommendable outfits is Olympus Diving in Morehead City, they run trips daily, given that the weather cooperates.

http://www.olympusdiving.com/shopfrm.htm

But there are others, try a general search on the web.

 

[EBS]

#1-What are the best wrecks to dive? I like the Aeolus (sp?) and the sites around her.

#2-A highly recomended Dive Operator?
Agree with other post - Olympus.

#3-Best time to dive? Spring, Summer, early fall. Temps and vis are great. Spring and fall are nice as the air temps are not brutally hot. During Fall you have to watch out for hurricanes spoiling travel plans.

#4-Water Temp and the seasons? The gulf stream keeps the temps in the upper sixties to mid seventies in the aforementioned seasons.

#5-Type of suit to wear? Wet - 3/5 mil is plenty.

#6-Where to stay at? resorts? Olympus has a bunk house that is very very basic and sometimes crowded. Otherwise, there are a few hotels in the area.

Additionally: B/C Morehead is near the banks, be sure to understand that "good conditions" can often be 3-5 foot with plenty of chop.

 

[Viv]

But, I just returned from my first trip to Morehead/Atlantic Beach, NC last week. So, here's a little trip report/response to your series of questions:

1- Wrecks I had the pleasure to dive: Aeolus, Indra, and U-352 (my favorite because of the historical interest - German sub sunk by the USCG in 1942)

2 - Dive operator - Olympus - as previously noted. We did get our air fills at Divocean Dive Center in Atlantic Beach because they were close to where our boats were docked (The Diver Down and The Pelican) and had Nitrox.

3 - The diving was great in July. The water was warming up and you didn't have to worry about the end of summer hurricanes.

4 - It was 68-70 degrees F at depth on the 2 deeper wrecks (approx 100 feet).

5- Exposure protection - don't ask me, I'm not normal

I'm always cold so I was wearing a dry suit (the only one on the boat - just for some perspective). For me 3mm weather is high 70's to low 80's. I probably would have been fine in my 5mm jacket/jane with a hood but I didn't bring it because everyone told me it would be warm.

6 - Where to stay? We stayed at the Sheraton Atlantic Beach. It was nice. Directly on the water with a good beach, pool, activities,etc. Very handy if you are traveling with non-divers.

EBS is right. I wish someone had warned me about the conditions. I was totally unprepared for the chop and 5 ft. swells on the first day because I was told that the conditions were "good"

Overall a fantastic trip - Planning to do it again next year

 

[kpb007]

Hi. I know this reply is late, but I just returned from a week in the Morehead City/Beaufort area of North Carolina and thought I'd put in my 2 cents...

#1-What are the best wrecks to dive?

We dove on the Aeolus, Normania, U352, and the Shurz, all of which were great dives. I would highly recommend the Aoelus and the U352- very different dives, but can be done in 1 day (U352 as the 1st dive and the Aeolus on the way back).

#2-A highly recomended Dive Operator?

We dove with Discovery Diving in Beaufort 1 day, and the other days with Olympus. I would highly recommend both operations. Very professional.

#3-Best time to dive?

This was my 1st time in N. Carolina, so can't really say. It rained the entire time, and we got blown out 1 day (which, out of 5 total days is not bad at all).

#4-Water Temp and the seasons?

The water temps at 100 ft was 63-64 deg! Supposedly the water temps have been very cold this season all along the East Coast. I was wearing a 3/4 wet suit with a hood and was cold, but not unbearably so. There were several others diving in dry suits, and I think that would be the way to go if you have one.

#5-Type of suit to wear?

See above. Remember that the water at 100 ft is very cold this year, so be prepared. Definitely wear at least a 3/4, and don't forget the hood.

#6-Where to stay at? resorts?

We stayed at Sea Spray condominiums in Atlantic Beach. We went with another couple, and each couple had their own bedroom. We would definitely stay there again. Reasonably priced, on a nice stretch of beach, with spacious accommodations.

Lastly- if you get at all seasick, bring something along- whatever helps you- patch, pills, sea bands, etc.

Have fun and I hope this is useful!

 

[Lead_carrier]

I'm a fan of Cape Hatteras. Like a couple of previous post, the water is strange this year. It isn't as warm as it usually is. I use a 3/5/3 and I'm usually good to go, but I don't get as cold as easily either. Lots of historical wrecks close by, with lots of artifacts still being found.

Outer Banks diving

 

[BradfordNC]

if your going to dive out of the Moorehead City area don't charter through Olympus unless you like cattleboats.
they don't schedule the dive sites they are going to visit, they let the boat vote on it. they tend to get a lot of groups, so if you happen to get stuck on a boat with a 13 person group, which happens often, you are stuck diving the sites they want. sure, that can be cool, but my dive buddy and i got stuck diving some pretty lame sites because the dominant group was only interested in collecting sea shells.

 

[jbuchow]

I would have to agree with some of the other replies recommending Olympus. Although they do not decide ahead of time what sites they will visit, on my recent trip I never felt like I was on a cattle boat. In the 3-5 ft seas, I would have hated being on a smaller boat... Disovery Diving was very similar to Olympus. Wouldn't hesitate recommending either dive op.

Jacob

 

[DandyDon]

I booked with a Group Sponsor who used to live in NC, now in Dallas Texas, and things couldn't have been better. I'm not computer litterate, but you can find Red Wet Blue Diving with a Google search easily enough. Or call Kamala at 214-350-7002.

She coordinates EVERYTHING, starting with being picked up at Raliegh Durham airport. Her packages include transportion from RDU to Atlantic Beach, rooms at Fishermens Inn, dive trips with Diver Down, even breakfast snacks and lunch sandwichs on the boat. She also provides van transport to supper at night.

She is picky - requiring AOW. I dove 30% EAN in 100 cf tanks on 4 wrecks, and 28% on two deeper wrecks we opted for one day. This is adventure diving, and the trips can be rough, but she supplies Sea Sick pills, too. We had Captain Bobby, two dive masters and Kamala on every dive - always with at least two of them in the water with us. And the couple who runs the F-Inn is like family, only nicer. Served us dinner on the dock Saturday night! Man, it was all good.

She has one more trip this year: October 3 arrivals, 4-6 three days of diving, 7th returns.

 

[cstreu1026]

My wife is a huge fan of OUter Banks Diving in Hateras. She has been out with them several times and has had nothing but great things to say about them. She did go with another operation out of Nags Head and hated everyting about them. They decided here equipment wasn't good enough (far better than rental gear) and forced her to rent gear and then stuffed her in a wetuit that was too small which contributed to her getting sick and loosing an entire day of her vacation not to mention more than $100 i think on the trip. I do know if you are interested in diving with Outer Banks its best to book in advance as they fill up quickly.

As far as places to stay, the majority of accomadations on the Outer Banks are rental house. There seem to be very few hotels and only slightly more B&B's. My wife and her parents always stayed in Rondanthe at the KOA camp ground which is actually quite nice. (i am not much on camping but I enjoyed the two trips with them) I wish I could have worked soemthing out for us to go this year, but becuase of getting married in June this will be the the first time in 23 years my wife hasn't spent her family vacation on the Outer Banks.

If you have any more specific questions about the area send me a PM and i will pass the, on to my wife.